A Brother's return
by tacticusthe11th
Summary: Ed comes back four years after the last episode. Four years of war has changed him. With mustang as Fuhrer Amestris has seen three years of peace. with war on the horizon, will Ed help bring peace to Amestris before enemies from his past tear it apart?


I don't own fullmetal alchemist

**Right, I decided to redo this story a little bet. Apart from making changes to existing chapter (and correcting them) I combined all of them into one chapter because all those small chapters were starting to annoy me. I'm also working on the second chapter of this, which will be just as long if not longer. I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. **

A bright flash of light lit up the battered remains of Dante's house in the underground city. It grew brighter and brighter until a gigantic gate appeared out of thin air. Suddenly the gate swung open and a man walked out of it in a bright glow of yellow light. He was six feet tall with medium length blonde hair and wearing an English colonel's uniform from world war 2.A dark green trench coat covered most of him. His right arm was curled into his chest and it was quite obvious it was a fake. When he walked he also favored his left leg, witch was also fake from about mid thigh down. He walked into the middle of the room and paused as the gate closed and faded away. He pulled an officers hat from the crook of his right arm and fixed it on his head. With a huge grin he looked at the ceiling and uttered two words.

"I'm home."

He closed his eyes and seemed to bask in the thought of it. Opening them he limped out of the room at a determined gait and set out towards the exit. As he walked, his gold eyes examined the underground city, trying to gage how long he'd been gone from this world, but it was no use. This city seemed to be timeless. He continued on until he reached the front door of the old church and paused taking a deep breath. It was a beautiful night in central, made even more so by the fact that he hadn't been here in four years. Setting off at a slow pace, he strolled in the general direction of Central HQ. It was going to be a wonderful night.

Or so he thought.

* * *

Roy mustang cursed as he struggled to breathe. The assassination attempt had been well thought out and carefully planned. They had waited until the new Fuehrer had been caught in a rainstorm so that he couldn't use his alchemy. Him and Riza had fought off some of them, but the rest of his guards had been killed in the initial attack. Now they were being herded into a dead end alley and there wasn't a whole lot the two of them could do with just their side arms.

"We seem to be in a bit of trouble, eh sir," Riza said as she eyed the twelve hulking men that were slowly advancing toward them. These men were different than the ones that had originally attacked. The first attackers had been coordinated and looked and fought like professional soldiers. Apparently they decided to let some common thugs finish the two of them off.

"That we are Captain Hawkeye," the men continued to advance as Roy and Riza slowly backed up until their backs hit the wall. Roy cursed himself in his mind again for not bringing a spare pair of gloves. He'd gotten lax since being made Fuehrer. The constant peace and loss of political power in the military had dulled his instincts.

"Stop right now and I might let you off easy," Roy said in his best intimidating voice.

"Oh really, and just what are you gonna do?" the closest one sneered.

"Him, he probably wont do anything. He's pretty much useless in the rain," a voice said behind the group. They all turned and looked at him. He was wearing a strange, green military uniform with an officer's hat that shielded his eyes from them. His right arm was fake and he was wearing a long, dark trench coat that had several holes and tears in it. "I, on the other hand, would thoroughly enjoy tearing you apart." he finished with a very familiar smirk.

"And what is a little gimp like you gonna do to us," the closest one challenged. He raised his gun and pointed at him threateningly. "Now go and play dress up somewhere else." as an answer the stranger clapped the fingers of his left hand against his left palm and made a throwing motion at the man with the gun. They could barely see the blade of ice that sliced into the man's shoulder and knocked him on the ground. Everyone stared at him in shock.

"You better get going before I start getting serious," the stranger said darkly, his hat casting his face in shadow. All of the would be assassins hurriedly ran out of the alley past him in fear. He watched them until they were out of sight, then turned to the Fuehrer and limped towards him and Riza. "You never did know how to stay out of trouble, did you Mustang?" he asked. As he got closer they saw that he had medium length gold blonde hair, but his eyes were still hidden.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Roy said, staring at the man warily. "I think I'd remember someone with an alchemy style as unique as yours."

"Oh, the alchemy is something I picked up a couple of years ago, but really, you don't recognize me?" Roy shook his head. "Maybe if I show you my eyes, hmm?" he said and took his hat off and tucked it underneath his fake arm.

Riza gasped involuntarily. "Ed?" they asked at the same time. Ed smirked at them.

"Good to see you two are as perceptive as always." he said and offered his hand to Riza, who was sprawled on the ground. "At least things haven't been getting boring while I've been gone," Ed said jokingly. "So, Mustang, are you Fuehrer yet?" he said as they walked out of the alley and toward central headquarters.

"Yes, I am," Roy said, still a little shell-shocked. "Jesus, Fullmetal, what the hell have you been eating? You've grown almost two feet!"

Ed laughed at the look on Roy's face. "What's the matter Mustang, upset because you can't call me short anymore?" he asked teasingly.

"Watch yourself Fullmetal, I'm still your superior," Roy growled. Before Ed could reply a large contingent of soldiers came around the corner just ahead of them. Leading the group was none other than-

"Fuhrer Mustang, what a joyous feeling it is to see you unharmed." Roy and Riza stared at Armstrong in mild horror while Ed just laughed.

"I'm glad that some things never seem to change," Ed said. Chuckling he looked at Armstrong with his biggest grin on his face. "I may be wrong, but isn't it an Armstrong family tradition to at least greet old friend whom you haven't seen in years?" he asked.

Armstrong stared at Ed for a minute, and then whispered, "Edward?"

Ed beamed at him proudly. Sparing a glance at Roy and Riza, he said, "See, he got it in just a few seconds. I practically had to spell it out for you two."

"Edward!" Armstrong boomed, "What a joyous day this is. Not only is the Fuehrer unharmed but the Fullmetal Alchemist returns as well!" As he talked he flexed his muscles and his shirt ripped into thousand of tiny pieces and sparkles appeared around his body. He strode up to Ed and gave pulled him into a, quite literally, bone crushing hug.

"Mustang!" Ed choked. He gestured frantically at Armstrong. "A little help." Mustang just shook his head and walked off to get a status report from one of the soldiers Armstrong had brought with him. "Bastard Fuhrer!" Ed called after him.

Izumi Curtis was beyond pissed. The idiot Roy Mustang had gotten himself caught by an assassination squad. A contingent of soldiers led by that crazy Armstrong guy had been sent out to find him, but he hadn't reported in yet. It wasn't that she cared if the Flame Alchemist got himself shot. His well-being was one of the things farthest from her mind. However, he was one of the few people in this country who could track down the homunculus she had created. She'd decided to go and find him two years ago when Alphonse had finished training with her. The Fuhrer, when he'd heard about her search, had offered to help. She was getting nowhere on her own so she had accepted, but she was still weary of the man's true intentions. The military had grown weaker, but that had just made Mustang more cunning and unpredictable.

And now the idiot had gone and gotten himself into a life-threatening situation. The soldiers at central HQ had told her to wait and not to go looking for him. Screw that. As she stormed down the streets of central, with Sig trailing behind her, she heard a commotion around coming from the street ahead of her. She rounded the corner and was stunned at the sight in front of her. There was Mustang, looking a little beat up but very much alive. Riza was standing next to him, equally abused, and there was Armstrong hugging the life out of some poor soul. The soldiers that had come with him where looking around, unsure what they were supposed to be doing. Suddenly a large crack echoed down the empty street and Izumi watched in horror as the blonde stranger's arm fell to the ground.

"Oh great. You broke my arm off! Let me go Armstrong!" the huge man let go and looked at the ground sheepishly.

"My most sincere apologies Edward! It was not my intention to cause you any harm!" Izumi's breath caught in her chest. He was the wrong height, but his hair was the right color. And it had been four years. That was plenty of time for the little brat to shoot up like that. The false limb was also a big hint.

"Ed," she said cautiously. The man turned around, showing Izumi his eyes. Her shock changed into anger. "Edward Elric, where the hell have you been for four years!" she yelled. The look of pure horror on Ed's face was almost comical.

"Uh, h-hello t-teacher. What are you doing here?" while Ed was stuttering, Izumi marched towards him. Ed ducked just as she threw a punch.

"Four years! Four years we thought you were dead and you don't even have the decency to send your brother a letter telling him you're alright, to pick up the damn phone and call us!" She was all out trying to kill him now, punches and kicks flying everywhere, but somehow Ed was dodging all of them. When the fight had started he'd looked panicked, but now there was an emotionless calm about him that was unnerving. Suddenly, Ed's remaining arm shot out and grabbed Izumi by the throat. He didn't strangle her; instead Ed spun with Izumi still in his grip and launched away from himself. She hit the ground and rolled back into a fighting position.

"Calm down or I'll start fighting back," he said coldly. Everyone stared in shock. The old Ed would be yelling his head off and bouncing around in anger during a fight. Now it was like he didn't feel anything while trading blows with Izumi. Suddenly Izumi fell to her knees and started coughing up blood.

"Fine, but don't think you're getting off easy. You have a lot of explaining to do," Izumi growled hoarsely as she stood up with help from Sig, wiping blood off her lips. She gingerly felt her throat. Ed sure had one hell of a grip. The Blonde Alchemist noticed what she was doing and sighed.

"You shouldn't have started a fight Izumi," he said calmly.

"Just shut-up!" she yelled indignantly. Inside she was still reeling. Ed had countered her like it was nothing. Four years ago it took him and Alphonse fighting at the same time just to hold their own. Things had obviously changed. _Jesus_ she thought, _he didn't even have use of two of his limbs!_

For a few minutes everyone just stood there in awkward silence. Mustang was the one who finally spoke.

"We should head back to Head Quarters. It looks like the storm is getting ready to get started again and we have to get ready for the assembly in two weeks," he said tiredly. All of the soldiers snapped to attention and started marching towards troop trucks parked just up the street. The rest walked slowly as a group. After a time Ed looked at Roy curiously.

"The assembly?" he questioned. Roy nodded.

"In two weeks there is going to be an assembly of the leaders of all the countries on this continent. It's going to be held here in Central. We have to make sure the city is secure. If anything happens it could mean all out war. I've been working closely with the military leaders of Drackma in the north and Satoe in the south to try to keep this area of the world from being drawn into the conflict. If anything goes wrong at that meeting it could mean war on a world wide scale," he said somberly.

"World war," Ed whispered. He shook his head. "So I suppose I'll be put back on active duty then?" he asked.

"First you're going to explain to us where you have been. After that, we'll see Fullmetal," Roy looked up at the darkening night sky and heaved a heavy sigh. It was going to be a long week. The group climbed into the trucks and sat down quietly, lost in their own thoughts.

The rest of the trip to Central Headquarters was made in relative silence. The soldiers talked quietly, glancing every now and then at the Fuehrer that was riding with them in disbelief. Armstrong, Hawkeye, and Mustang were wondering what had happened to Ed while he was gone and Izumi was still fuming that she had lost her little spar with Ed. The blonde alchemist himself just smiled to himself and looked out the back of the truck at the streets of Central.

When they arrived at HQ the small group climbed out of the trucks and began climbing the tall stairs that led to the militaries main building. The soldiers followed them and began taking positions around the building incase another attack came. The action was more for appearances and actual need. No one would be stupid enough to attack HQ after a failed attack like that.

As they made their way through the building various soldiers stopped and saluted their superiors while giving Ed confused looks. The blonde alchemist just grinned at them. For years ago they would have been staring at him in wonder. His reputation had been rather impressive back then. Then the group passed a statue in a small alcove in the hallway that made Ed stop cold. The rest of the group turned and gave him confused stares.

"What the HELL is this Mustang!" Ed yelled, pointing at a bronze statue of himself when he had been younger. Fullmetal Alchemist was engrave of the base, with MIA carved just underneath it.

"You were gone for four years Elric," Mustang said, looking at Ed with his one good eye, something Ed hadn't noticed until now. "After being gone for two years it's standard procedure to list you as MIA,"

"Just two years!" Ed yelled back. Several soldiers stopped to stare at a man with the courage to yell at the Fuhrer himself.

"For regular soldiers it's six months, but since you disappeared into the field so often we had to change that rule for you Elric, now come on. You owe me a debriefing." Ed grumbled but followed after his old colonel. The rest of the group just grinned in amusement. He may have been gone for four years, but Ed hadn't changed all that much. The rest of the walk to Mustangs office was made in silence.

"So what is it exactly that you want to know?" Ed asked as he sat down heavily on a couch in the Fuhrer's office. Mustang was behind his desk with Riza hovering over his left shoulder. Sig and Izumi had sat down on a couch on the other side of the room and Armstrong was standing watch just outside the door.

"Well, I-" Roy started.

"We want to know where the hell you've been!" Izumi yelled. Roy glared at her for interrupting him then sighed. The woman was to bull headed to bother arguing with.

"Yes, Fullmetal, we would like to know where you've been," he said tiredly, resting his head in his hand and idly fiddling with his eye patch.

"Well that's pretty easy to answer, but it's hard as hell to explain," Ed said, looking thoughtful. "Roy, have you ever heard of the Gate of Truth?"

Roy frowned at him. If Ed was using his first name then it must be very serious matter. "Of course I have. It's a myth about alchemy, a gate that contains all the secret of the world. What does this have to do with where you were?"

Ed gave all of them an evil smirk. "First off, it's not a myth. Ask Izumi if you don't believe me. The Gate is what you have to exchange with when you perform human transmutation. Basically it's where souls go when the body dies." Roy looked at Ed skeptically.

"He's telling the truth Mustang," Izumi said quietly. "I've seen it and so has Ed. That's why we can do alchemy without a circle. We learned, in a way, how to do it when we were inside the gate," she closed her eyes as if trying to fend off some unwanted memories and leaned into Sig's embrace.

"I suppose this all has something to do with where you were?" Roy asked, glancing at Izumi.

"Yes it does. You see, apart from being the intermediary for human transmutation, it is also a gateway to another world." Everyone in the room stared at Ed in shock. "I'm telling you the truth. This other world is geographically the same, but some time after the birth of Christ our two histories paths diverged," Ed paused, looking at the shocked faces of the few people in the room. He sighed heavily. "When I was in the underground city four years ago I was killed by the Homunculus Envy. Alphonse, who was still a suit of armor, also had the philosophers stone inside of him. That's why we ran, incase you were wondering Mustang," Ed paused and took a deep breath. "When I died, Al used the philosophers stone to bring me back, whole, in exchange for himself and the stone. When I woke up, _I _offered _myself _to bring Al back. Instead of killing me the gate took me to the other side," Ed stopped and thought for a moment. "In retrospect what we did was kind of stupid. I mean, killing ourselves to bring the other one back."

Mustang snorted. "Really, you think? I understand that you two love each other, but that was a bit excessive,"

Ed glared at the former colonel. "I'd do it again if it meant saving Al," he said menacingly.

Mustang's eyes narrowed at Ed before he rubbed his forehead and sighed again. "I know you would Fullmetal. You two are just so irritating sometimes."

"Please, can we continue with Ed's expiation, fighting can wait for later," Izuumi said tiredly.

With a final glare at Mustang, Ed started again. "The reason I couldn't come home right away was because Alchemy doesn't work on the other side, or so I thought. It took my father and me three years to figure out a way to open the gate again. By then, Europe, the place I ended up in, was in the middle of a world war. I enlisted in one country's military to try and buy my father more time to complete our research. By the time we had a working theory I was a Colonel in the British army," Ed stopped and looked at them all. "Any questions?" he asked cheerfully.

"I've got one," Roy said. "You said Alchemy didn't work on the other side, but you used a new form of alchemy back at the alley there. Explain,"

Ed smirked at him again. "I couldn't perform alchemy like I do here, no. However, that doesn't mean that I couldn't learn it. I just never got a chance to try it until a returned here to Amestris."

"But then how did you return?" Izumi questioned.

"The reason Alchemy doesn't work on the other side of the gate is because the energy source that powers Alchemy here doesn't exist. However, when we hooked up a power source from that world to an _extremely _complex circle, we managed to open the gate." Something changed in Ed's eyes when he mentioned the power source from this other world, but nobody could quite put their finger on it.

"Wait, you said your father? If he helped you open the Gate then why didn't he come back with you?" Mustang asked. Honenheim of light would be a very valuable asset to the military, perhaps as valuable as Ed had become.

"He didn't make it through. Right when we were opening the gate we were attacked by the Nazi's, the group that had started the war. We thought that we would be safe from them in England, but they found our location and sent a small team to kill us. My father stayed back to fend them off while I went through the gate."

"How did these Nazi's even know about your alchemy?" Riza asked with narrowed eyes.

"My father spent a lot of time in their home country before I arrived. Some of his acquaintances were less trustworthy than he had thought," Ed said, but Mustang noticed the faraway look in his eyes.

_He isn't telling us something, but if I know Ed then he'll be too stubborn to tell us unless he wants to. _

"Is there anything else you need to add to your report Fullmetal?" Roy asked carefully.

Ed thought for a moment before answering.

"That's everything I can think of,"

"In that's case Fullmetal, let's move on to other business," Izumi stared at Roy like he was mad for dismissing something as incredible as this so easily. "Do you still wish to be a part of the Amestrian military?"

"I really wish I could say no, but after three years of fighting, I don't really know much else anymore. Beside, from the sound of what's going on here, you're going to need someone experienced with world wars."

Izumi frowned at him. "Are you going to call Alphonse and Winry before you go marching back to the military?" she asked bitterly.

Ed laughed at her. "Of course I am. What kind of brother would I be if I didn't?"

Roy smiled tightly. "Actually, I want you to head out to the Rockbell's tomorrow anyway. I need you to have all of your limbs functioning Fullmetal. I will have a uniform delivered to your dorm room tonight and you can head out tomorrow morning." Roy stood and saluted Ed. Ed mirrored his action. "Dismissed Colonel Elric," Ed stared at Mustang in confusion for a moment then smirked.

"Understood sir," he replied and left the office. Izumi glared at Roy and stormed out after Ed. Roy sat back in his chair and smiled to himself.

"Things should be interesting with Edward back in Central," Hawkeye said from behind him.

"Oh, I'm counting on it Riza,"

"Is that why you're smiling sir? Thinking about all the mayhem he'll cause,"

"No Riza. I'm smiling because that is the first time Elric has ever saluted me, much less called me sir," Riza gave Roy a dubious look.

"Sometimes you're very strange sir,"

"I know Hawkeye, I know,"

Beneath the city, back in Dante's house, something unexpected was happening. A bright light once again filled the room and once again the gate appeared. Unlike when Ed had come through, the doors were forced open and two people fought their way out of the grasp of the child like black hands that were grabbing at their bodies. One had long, green, spiky hair and was wearing a tight black shirt and what looked like a skirt. He glanced around the room, sneering in disgust. Envy looked at his old home, searching for the Fullmetal limp as he now called him.

"I doubt he's here. Elric's no fool. Besides, we entered the gate some time after he did. We'll have to hunt him down." the man spoke with a heavy German accent but somehow managed to speak English fairly well. He was a stark contrast to the short and skinny Envy. He was tall, somewhere past six foot, with dark brown hair and blue eyes and a large, robust build like that of a boxer. He was dressed in German colonels uniform from World War 2 with multiple campaign ribbons and medals decorating his chest. Envy glared at him.

"Don't tell me what to do Schienbek. I want to ring that bastard's neck! He's no better than his father!"

"That's colonel Schienbek to you creature. If it weren't for me you would still be in that ditch I found you in, slowly starving to death without your red stones. Don't worry, I'll let you kill Elric soon enough. First, however, we must acquire money and resources in this world. Right now that's the biggest advantage he has on us. This is his actual home and I only have you to rely on for information. Now show me the way out of here. Then find a treat. I'm weary from opening the gate as I did and need a little pick me up, " His tone of voice warranted no argument. Grumbling, Envy started to walk out of the huge room. The German colonel stopped and stared at the ceiling. _I'm coming for you_ he thought, then smirked, _teacher._

An old drunk man stood outside a crumbling chapel in the slums of central. He sat down on the steps and pulled a bottle out of his pocket. Taking a long swig of it, he looked around for any other homeless people who might try and take his prized alcohol. Then he took a long gulp he collapsed backwards on the stairs and let out a contented sigh.

"Hey, you," a feminine voice called out in the night. The drunk looked around, finally seeing a beautiful women standing just inside the doors of the church. She giggled and gestured for him to come in. the old man shrugged. He was probably hallucinating, but it was a pretty nice hallucination so he decided to play along. Stumbling to his feet, he climbed up the steps as quickly as his drunken feet could carry him.

"Young miss," he called out from the front doors of the chapel. He heard another giggle behind him. He turned around slowly, a grin on his face. It quickly turned into a frown when he saw-no one!

"Over here," the woman whispered again, this time to the left of him. The man was getting nervous now, but he followed the voice. "Down the stairs," she whispered again. The man stared at the strange staircase at the center of the church suspiciously, but he was far too plastered to see any danger in it. Walking down the stairs, he heard the same women's voice singing a beautiful song. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he stared in shock. There was a huge beautiful room, with giant stone heads partially sunk in the huge pond, stepping stones leading across it, the water spilling over the edge forming an amazing waterfall. The singing had stopped now. "Behind you," the voice whispered again. He whipped around to see a young, beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair and a figure that could kill in a form fitting white dress. Standing next to her was a tall, strange man in some kind of gray uniform, strange medals decorating it. His cold blue eyes seemed to stare directly into the old drunk's soul.

"Good job Envy," he said to the young women at his side. She gave him an evil grin and turned back to the drunk.

"Hurry up and do your thing, this man smells horrible," she said with a venomous glare at the old man. The Tall Man laughed, the sound sending chills down the old mans spine. Quick as a flash he rushed forward, clapping his hands on the way. He slammed his hands onto the sides of the man's head and dark, purple alchemic energy surrounded him. There was a screaming noise as a white, misty shape came out of the man's eyes and into Schienbek's. As suddenly as the dark light had appeared it was gone, and the dead body of the drunk fell to the ground, dead. Schienbek straightened and drew in a shuddering breath. He turned to Envy, a strange, dark light emanating from his eyes. Envy shuddered. No matter how many times he saw the psychotic Colonel do that it still scared him, and not many things could scare Envy. "Can we go now," he said, glancing around nervously. Schienbek grinned insanely.

"Of course we can," he said in a strange, gravely voice. He was still high from the effects of what he had just done. Schienbek clapped his hands and put them on his clothes. They changed into a t-shirt, trousers, and a sports coat, all of them gray. "Take the body upstairs. We need to leave Elric a message, let him know he's not alone anymore." Envy's grin at those words almost rivaled Schienbek's. Almost. Envy, still in his female body, picked up the dead man's body and carried it away. The German colonel didn't notice. He was still riding the waves of euphoria from his transmutation. Spreading his arms out to the side, he tilted his head back-- and began to laugh.

* * *

Ed limped through the front doors of the train station. It was early morning and there weren't many people in the station yet. He was dressed in black pants, a black t-shirt and a red coat with a metal clasp on it. He looked much like he had before he left, just a foot or two taller. He had a suitcase in his left hand with his uniform, another change of clothes, and a pistol. He had a throwing knife in each boot and a pistol in a holster under his right, fake arm. He didn't really need any of the weapons since he could use alchemy freely in this world, but old habits die hard. Especially habits made during war.

"Excuse me sir, but I need to see your ticket and your identification," said a guard standing by the train entrance. Ed put his suitcase down and into the inside right pocket of his coat. The guard must have seen the gun because he tensed. "Sir, I'm going to ask you to surrender your firearm. They are not permitted on the train." He said, giving an angry glare to Ed. Grinning, Ed pulled out his new identification that Mustang had given him that morning. The minute the guard saw it he paled. "I'm very sorry colonel, please, go right on board. I'm terribly sorry for interrupting your business. Tell if there is anything I can do to assist you. I-" Ed put his real arm on the man's shoulder to silence his rambling.

"Just relax. You're not in trouble," he said, giving the poor man a comforting smile. The Guard relaxed somewhat. "Could you get someone to help me get my luggage on board?"

"I'll do it myself sir," the guard said, still nervous around a Colonel. The military might not have as much power as it used to but it still unwise to be disrespectful to any of its major officers. Especially a State Alchemist, if that pocket watch was anything to go by.

Ed nodded his thanks to the man and climbed on board the train. The guard followed right behind him carrying his suitcase. Picking an empty room, he told the guard to leave the luggage on the other seat. The man babbled for a bit then, realizing he wasn't welcome, left as quickly as he could. Ed lay down on the padded bench and closed his eyes, unconsciously rubbing where the fake arm met his body. It always hurt in the morning, just like all his other scars. He smirked to himself. Those scars were a lot more numerous then they had been when he'd left this world. He traced the one on his right cheek that went from his cheekbone down to his jaw. It was really just a pale line since the cut hadn't been that deep, but it still bothered him. Some of the women he'd known had said it made him look more handsome but they hadn't convinced Ed. There was a rumble and the cabin shook slightly. With a start Ed realized that the train had started. That meant that he'd been sitting there thinking for almost half an hour. He grinned and settled in for the two-day ride to Rizembool.

* * *

Captain Riza Hawkeye strode into the abandoned church, her back ramrod strait. Soldiers snapped to attention as she walked past them. This woman was the hand of the Fuehrer himself. The only reason she wasn't a colonel by now was that she had turned down every offer at a promotion, wanting to stay by Roy Mustang's side. However, in regards to her, rank meant little. Hawkeye had the full backing of the Fuehrer in anything that she did and even Generals had been known to take orders from her.

Riza stopped near the front of the church where a minister or priest would give his speeches. She spun in a slow circle, examining the entire church from her vantage point. It was something few could do in this situation and hold their stomachs at the same time. It looked like a scene out of some horror novel. All of the walls, pillars, even the floor were covered with writing in blood. And all the writings said the same thing.

_My Beautiful Blasphemy. _

Dressed across the pews was what Riza could only guess were the remains of the man the blood had come from, if it had even come from a man. It was hard to tell with the size of the pieces left.

"Corporal," Riza said in a whisper, but every man in the room heard her, "is there anything else of interest besides the messages and can we identify the body?"

"We've got a lead on the victim. A couple homeless people said they saw a resident drunk come in here two nights around one o-clock. We're not sure yet if he's the victim or the perpetrator of this," said a soldier to Hawkeye's left, gesturing to the surrounding gore.

She gave him a curt nod. "Is there anything else?" she said, louder this time.

"Yes ma'am. We found another message I think you should take a look at." The corporal turned and started walking into the back of the church. Riza followed a brisk pace. They stopped outside what would have been the priest's quarters. Now the rotted remains of the door and the destroyed interior made it seem more like an abandoned warehouse. The corporal gestured to the far wall, and an involuntary gasp escaped Riza. Drawn in blood on the wall was Edwards's symbol of a snake draped across a cross. Written underneath it were just two words.

'_Hello Teacher'_

Riza straitened and left the room as quickly as she could without running. It wouldn't do for the men to see her panicked. She quickly left the jeep, leaving short orders with a sergeant to clean it up before any public papers got a hold of the story. Climbing into a jeep, she glared at the relaxed looking driver.

"Take me to Central Headquarters immediately!" the words were spoken calmly, but with an underlying promise of pain if the man did not comply ASAP. He hurriedly turned on the car and gassed it towards the Military Headquarters.

Riza ignored him. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back in her seat. She just prayed to god that she was wrong in her assumption. Because if she wasn't then Ed was in deep. Murder was the last thing that they needed right now. The peace talks would be starting in just two weeks and a brutal murder like this would cause and uproar all over Central that would not make the foreign diplomats comfortable. It had been difficult enough to convince them to meet in Central in the first place, what with Amestris' history with Ishbal and it's rouge alchemists. Brutal and vicious murders that had everyone remembering the Ishbal renegade Scar might ruin the entire function. This mess needed to be cleaned up quickly and quietly.

The jeep jerked to a stop, bringing Riza out of her musings. She clambered out of the car and ignored the stuttering soldier in the jeep. The Captain walked briskly up the steps of Central Headquarters, her dark blue trench coat billowing out behind her. Clerks and leapt out of her way and soldiers stopped and saluted the blonde woman as she walked past. Riza paid them no mind. Roy needed to know about what had happened immediately. Then she was going to have to recall Edward.

_Perhaps I'll send one of his new subordinates to collect him. Major Harris did well on the State Alchemy Exam and he's green enough that he won't hero worship the great Fullmetal Alchemist._

Riza stopped just inside the doors of HQ and sighed. This whole mess was going to be a serious problem if they didn't take care of it now. Ed had just arrived three day ago and already things were going to hell. Riza pushed her errant thoughts away and continued on to the Fuehrer's office.

* * *

Ed stepped off the train and stretched his remaining arm. It had been a long trip from Central, but it was worth it just to see Rizembool again. He grinned as he looked around the deserted train station. The town was so far out of the way that the only things that usually got off at Rizembool were mail and supplies. Ed's grinned widened as he thought of Winry and Al's reaction to seeing him again. _Hopefully they won't be as violent as Izumi was. Then again, Winry always did enjoy hitting me in the head with that damn Wrench. _His grin faltered at the thought of the Giant Wrench of Doom that was likely to nail him in the head when he got to the house, but it returned full force a few seconds later. Seeing Winry an Al was worth the cranial damage he might receive.

Ed picked up his suitcase and started limping out of the station a quick pace. It was a long walk up to the house and it wouldn't do any point to sit round the train station breathing in the fumes coming off the large engine. Before he had left Ed might have stopped to look around the town and see if anything had changed, but years of war had changed him more than it had changed the sleepy little town. In his mind, getting to the Rockbell home was an objective, as opposed to going home like it used to be, and he needed to complete that objective as soon as possible.

Ed was halfway to the Rockbell's house when he heard laughter to the field to his right. He turned to look and saw a young Alphonse Elric playing in the field with Dan and Winry. The dog was running around Al as he ran around a tree. Winry was sitting with her back to Ed watching the two playing. Ed was sure that if he could see her face that she would be smiling. He walked up behind her cautiously and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped a little and turned around and stood up quickly. She blinked when she realized that she was staring at someone's chest. She looked up, a glare already starting on her face, but stopped cold when she saw Ed's eyes.

"E-Ed?" she questioned quietly.

Ed gave her his best smile. "Yeah Winry, it's me," he responded, equally quiet.

The Next thing Ed knew he was lying on the ground with a lump the size of an orange starting on his forehead. The sound of metal hitting his head was still ringing in his ears. Weakly, he lifted his head and gave Winry a glazed look.

"_**Edward Elric where the hell have you been!?**_ _**Do you have ANY idea how worried we've all been! Do you? DO YOU!?" **_Winry took a few deep breaths after screaming in Ed's face, and Ed noticed that some things never did change. Then he promptly passed out from sever head trauma.

**There we go, a nice rewrite without all those annoying short chapters. Please R n' R people. **

**Peace,**

**Out.**


End file.
